-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday .

England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray .

The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year .

They accepted the Liverpool captain 's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee .

The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an `` explosion of violence . ''

Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court .

`` Can I just say how pleased I am with today 's verdict , '' he said .

`` I 'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now .

`` I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me . ''

His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court , before he was ushered away .

Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport , a suburb of Liverpool , after scoring twice his team 's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League .

Video footage , which was available to the court , showed the moment around 2 . am in the morning when trouble flared .

Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device .

In the fracas which followed , Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected .

He claimed , and his version was accepted by the jury , that he believed he was about to be attacked himself .

`` You did not start the violence , it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends , John Doran , '' Globe said .

`` The victim 's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background , '' he added .

Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior . They will be sentenced at a later date .

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England football star Steven Gerrard cleared of affray charge by Liverpool court

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Gerrard admitted punching 34-year-old businessman Marcus McGhee

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Jury accepted his version that he acted in self defense in nightclub brawl